Christopher McDougall

author of Born to Run and Natural Born Heroes

Running Shoes, re-Born.

Coach E, the guy who beat me in a bet when I said there was no way I could run a 50-mile footrace, also opened my eyes to the sins of structured running shoes. Better put, he won the bet because he showed me how destructive they are. Instead of just beefing about the problem, he’s come up with his own solution — he’s designed his own minimalist shoe. He’s calling it B2R, although I have to point out that it’s entirely his business, not mine (the punk hasn’t even gotten around to sending me a pair yet. Size 13, please! 14 if you’ve got it).
What I like most about his approach is his idea that shoes are an accessory, not a solution. The best shoes protect your feet but stay out of your way. They don’t change anything. They don’t fix anything. If you’re doing something wrong, nothing you buy will help. If you learn to run correctly, you can wear whatever you please.

Even Crocs. Maybe especially Crocs. According to John Kent, a 62-year-old New Zealander, all you have to do is sling one of his Eazirun ankle straps around your Crocs and you’ve got a cheap, durable, ultra-ventilated pair of zero(ish)-drops that will last 1,000-plus miles. Think he’s wrong? You’re arguing with a senior citizen who can blaze a 10k in under 40 minutes. That’s 6:25 a mile for 6.2 miles at age 62.